Admissions

This fall, the reinstatement of Harvard and Princeton universities’ early action programs, which were eliminated in 2006, may have contributed to diminished applicant pools for many of their competitors, including Penn.
INTERACTIVE: 2012 early admissions at peer schools

Prompted by a series of opinion pieces that appeared in the Penn Almanac earlier this school year, the panel — which is part of Ware College House’s ongoing “Dinner with Interesting People” speaker series — will take place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in McClelland Hall.
INTERACTIVE: Pell grants around the Ivies

In the third part of a series following students applying early decision to Penn, we caught up with Ontario high-school senior William Xiao, who started preparing to apply to an American university in tenth grade.

Lauren Shapiro, a senior at Doris and Alex Weber Jewish Community High School in Atlanta, Ga., said “it’s absolutely necessary that [the college I attend] has some Jewish population.” Of 10,000 undergraduate at Penn, around 25 percent are Jewish.

A week after placing 16th on the annual “World University Rankings” by Times Higher Education, Penn was named the ninth best higher-education institution in the world by U.S. News and World Report.
INTERACTIVE: 2011 college rankings

Despite Harvard and Princeton’s reinstated early action programs, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda does not anticipate a drop in early decision applications to Penn.
INTERACTIVE: Early rates around the Ivies

Penn advanced from the 19th to 16th spot in the ‘World University Rankings’ by Times Higher Education. The rankings, which placed California Institute of Technology at number one, consider international universities.

Jerome Vivino, formerly a member of Penn’s Class of 2013, first transferred from Wharton to the College, then out of Penn entirely. Vivino is not alone — about one in three college students will transfer universities throughout the course of their education.
Interactive: Transfers at Penn

Although College Board announced earlier this month that the SAT score gap between the average low income and wealthy applicants has continued to widen, Penn will continue to look to the test as a factor for admissions.

This fall, Elmhurst College applicants will have the option to answer a question about their sexual orientation. Since Penn has been recognized as a leader among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-friendly colleges, students and administrators wonder whether the University will follow suit.